Trigger control



March 29 1927; 1,622,501

C. N. FAIRCHILD TRIGGER CONTROL Filed May 1, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 29, 1927.

C. N. FAIRCHILD TRIGGER CONTROL Filed May 1, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 swam W01 Patented Ma. 29, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DELAWARE.

mnIeeEncoNrRoL.

Application filed. Kay- 1,

This invention relates to locks and has for its principal object the provision of'a lock suitable for automobile steering posts in. which the operator is prevented from shooting the bolt while the key is in the lock.

Automobile locks are now'on the market in which the operator inserts a key in a lock and then turns it thereby to withdraw the bolt to unlock the car, and simultaneously close the ignition circuit. Durlng the normal running of the car it is quite customary to leave the key in the lock and in some of the looks a little trigger is provided, thepressing of which shoots the boltinto locking position and simultaneously shutting ofi or breaking the ignition circuit. Such a lock is unsatisfactory in case of accident. A

serious hazard is had by the danger of acciden'tally striking against the trigger shut.- ting oil the power, and resulting in the locking of the steering post in straight ahead position just assoon after the accident as the wheels assume that position. To obviate this hazard is a further object of the present invention. I

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of the lock, looking down the steering tube.

Figure 2 is a View at right angles thereto;

Figure 3 is a section taken through the axis of the release pin. Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation showing the safety pawl. As shown in the figures the lock housing consists in two cooperating sections 10 and 11 secured together in the usual fashion about the steering tube casing 14 and having a spring-pressed locking bolt 15 whichpasses into or through the steering post tube 17 to lock it against the relative movement with respect to the steering post tube.

The bolt 15 is retracted in the usual manner by means of the engagement with a pin 20 carried on the preferably integralhead 21 of the bolt by a lever 24 carried by therotatable cylindrical portion of the usual tumbler lock.

-. As is customary in all Group I locks the unlocking of the bolt 15 causes the contact members such as 30 and 31 to be engaged to close the ignition circuit. The specific details of the parts so far described may follow any practice desired as they form per se no part of the present invention, which is limited to the means for preventing acci- 192 5. Serial no. 27,266.

the stem 15, that is, the locking bolt itself and by such engagement preventing the bolt from shooting to locked position under the "urge of its spring 40. The trigger 42 carries a push p n 43 which engages one arm of the catch 34 and to press it inward against the spring36 thereby to cause removalof the large end of theoatch the head of the bolt.

34 from the path of A spring 46 normally CHARLES N. FAIRCHILD, OF MILFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR '1'0 FAIRCHILD LOCK CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF holds the trigger 42 outward and against a stop '47 Under ordinary circumstances it vis. not possible to push in the trigger 42 to release the bolt because a safety pawl 50 keyed on shaft 51 passing entirelyithrough the housing is held in position beneath the head of the trigger by-means of a spring 54. d On the same shaft 51 there is mounted abell crank 'lever55 having a thumb piece 56 and an arm 57- having a slot 58 therein which partially but not completely clears the slot for withdraw the bolt;

56 of the bell crank lever is moved in a clockwise direction. There is sufficient lost motion provided between the bell crank lever admission of the key to operate the lock to 55. and the safety pawl 50 to permit this movement as in absence of some lost motion clockwise direction of the finger piece 56v would be prevented by the engagement of the pawl with the stem of the trigger 42.

Movement of the finger piece '56 in the op-' posite direction, i. e., counterclockwise, en-' gages the shaft and turnsthe free end of the v pawl 50 away from the trigger sothat the latter can be pressed in by hand to shoot the bolt. Movement of the bell crank lever 55 in this counterclockwise) direction however is impossible as long as' the key is inits key hole for the key lies in the path of the arm 57 as it must move to release the pawl 50.

Therefore when'the'car is in running ,position, 1. e. locked and the ignition on. the

loc ed position by key must be removed bodily from the look before the pawl can be removed from the path of the trigger so as to. allow the trigger to move to open the ignition circuit or to lock the car.

What I claim is:

'1. In combination a spring pressed bolt key operated means for retracting same, manually operated 'release mechanism for shootin said bolt to locked position, and means %or preventing the operation of the release when the key is in the lokf 2. A look of the type in whicha spring pressed bolt is retracted by means-of a key and is shot to locked position upon operation "of a manually operated release, characterized by the PIOVlSlOnDf a member movp able into position toblock movement of said release, and means movable to a position partially closing the key hole of the lock to withdraw said member from blocking position. v 3. A lock of the type in which a spring pressed bolt is retracted by means of a key and is shot to locked position upon opera tion of a manually operated release, characterized by the provision of means, including a manually operated lever, for preventing said operation of said release when said key is in said lock.

4:. A lock of the type in which a "spring pressed bolt is retracted by means of a key and is shot to locked position upon operation of a manually operated release, characterized by the provision of means for preventing the operation of the release when the key is in the lock, said means consisting of a pivotal pawl spring pressed to position to prevent operation of said release, a lever yieldingly held in position to cover a portion of the key hole and a member operatively connected to said lever and sad pawl whereby said lever will retract said pawl against its spring. y I

5. An automobile steering post lock ofv the type in which a spring pressed bolt is discharged to locked position by release of a s ring pressed latch, is withdrawn to unthe operation of a cylinof the pawl when the key is in the lock but which when the key is absent from the lock may be moved into the path of insertion of the key to withdraw said pawl. 1

6. The lock of claimf5 in which the lever and pawl are operatively connected together with a lost motion device so that the lever may be moved to permit entry of the key into the cylinder without movement of said awl. v

7. The lock of claim 5 in which the pawl is fixed'to a shaft passing from front to rear of the lock, the lever is of the bell-crank type and is mounted on said shaft with provision,

for movement in one direction without movement of said shaft or pawl, and in which a spring is fast to the shaft to resiliently hold the pawl in position to prevent release of the-ignition breaking means.

8. An electrical circuit. control device of the type in which a member moves to make or to break the circuit and in which the member is key controlled in one direction of movement but is free to move in the other direction in absence of said key, characterized by the provisionof means for preventing such free movement when the key is in the lock, whereby movement of said member in one direction is possible onlyvwhen the key is in the lock and movement of said member in the other direction is possible only when the key is out of the lock.

The device of claim -8 in which the movable member is operatively connected to a cylinder lock operated by said key for making the circuit and in which He breaking of-the circuit is accomplished by mechanism released by a manually operated trigger.

In testimony whereof I CHARLES N. FAIRCHILD.

afiix my signature. 

